Atiku demands suspension. CSOs call for Ojulari’s resignation. $3.5 billion now missing. And NNPC briefs journalists anonymously while ignoring TheDiggerNews.com’s formal inquiry
Kehinde Adegoke unearths.
When TheDiggerNews.com published its exclusive investigation into NNPC’s Chinese Gamble on May 5, 2026, we asked six specific questions and gave NNPC until midnight May 7 to respond. NNPC did not answer.
What has happened since is more revealing than any response could have been.
In the eight days since our investigation was published, the story has exploded across Nigeria’s political, energy, and civil society landscape — with consequences that have exceeded every expectation. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has demanded an immediate suspension of the deal. Civil society organisations have called for the resignation of the NNPC GCEO, Bayo Ojulari. Nigeria’s leading employers’ body has described the arrangement as “unpatriotic.” Energy experts have publicly confirmed our core findings. And NNPC — the organisation that will not formally respond to TheDiggerNews.com‘s inquiry — has been briefing anonymous sources to other publications while the questions we formally put to it remain publicly unanswered.
Here is what the past eight days have revealed — and what it means.
Xinganchen: From “Untraceable” To “Real Estate Company”
When TheDiggerNews.com first reported that Xinganchen (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co. Ltd was virtually untraceable in international databases, we noted that it appeared to be a specialised industrial park operator. Eight days of additional reporting have hardened that finding into something considerably more damning.
Energy expert Oye was unambiguous in his assessment: “That one is just a real estate company. They are into industrial parks. There is no evidence anywhere in the world where they have been involved in any refinery, or they run a refinery.” Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s statement likened NNPC’s choice to “handing over a hospital’s intensive care unit to a real estate developer simply because they can construct buildings.”
A real estate and industrial park management company has been selected — through an undisclosed process — to cooperate with Nigeria’s most strategically significant refineries. That is not our characterisation. It is the publicly stated assessment of a former Vice President and multiple energy sector experts.
Sanjiang: Listed, Cash-Strapped, And Still Not A Refinery Operator
Our original investigation established that Sanjiang Chemical Company had no publicly verifiable history of operating a crude oil refinery. New reporting has not only confirmed that finding, but has added a dimension that makes the selection even more troubling.
Sanjiang Chemical is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and operates one of the world’s largest single-unit chemical processing facilities. However, energy experts have pointed to declining revenues, shrinking profitability, and significant short-term debt exposure.
Oye put the company’s margin decline at approximately 5.7 per cent year-on-year, raising the pointed question: “If a company is already battling financial compression and liquidity concerns in its own operations, how exactly does it intend to shoulder the burden of reviving two of Africa’s most troubled refineries?”
NNPC‘s defence — that modern refineries are increasingly designed as integrated energy hubs and that Sanjiang’s chemicals expertise makes it a suitable partner — has been directly rebutted by experts who note that Sanjiang has never built, operated, or managed a full-scale crude oil refinery of the magnitude of Port Harcourt or Warri.
The Missing Billions — $3.5 Billion, Not $2.39 Billion
Our original investigation cited $2.39 billion spent under the Buhari administration on refinery rehabilitation. New findings have significantly upgraded that figure.
Civil society organisations under the Civic Centre for Independent Forensic Activists say more than $3.5 billion has reportedly been spent on the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries — without delivering consistent and sustainable operations. Nigerians are still waiting for a full public account of how the funds were used, what projects were completed, and why the facilities remain largely underperforming.
The group has called for the resignation of NNPC GCEO Bayo Ojulari — the same official whose own public condemnation of the last refinery restart as “a monumental loss” and “national waste” was the centrepiece of TheDiggerNews.com’s original investigation.
Atiku’s Demand — And What It Confirms
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has demanded the immediate suspension and public scrutiny of the Technical Equity Partnership, describing it as “another dangerous gamble with Nigeria’s economic future.” He said: “It is both shocking and insulting that after wasting over $2.5 billion on endless refinery rehabilitation scandals, the NNPC is once again asking Nigerians to trust another experiment built on secrecy and questionable competence.”
Atiku’s intervention — the most politically significant reaction to the story since TheDiggerNews.com published — validates the core of our investigation: that the partner selection process lacks transparency, that the companies lack credentials, and that Nigeria cannot afford another cycle of expensive failure.
NNPC’S Selective Silence — The Most Revealing Detail Of All
Eight days after TheDiggerNews.com sent its formal inquiry to NNPC Limited with six specific questions about partner credentials, selection process, financial terms, and cost commitment, NNPC has not responded.
Yet the NNPC has not been silent. A senior NNPC official — speaking anonymously to The Punch — sought to defend the deal, saying: “It is important to clarify that it is not an agreement or a financial agreement. It is an understanding with the two parties who are interested in exploring opportunities to revamp and expand the capacities of the refinery.”
NNPC’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer Andy Odeh issued a formal statement to multiple outlets. The organisation briefed anonymous sources. It gave interviews. It defended the deal across multiple platforms.
It did not answer TheDiggerNews.com‘s formal inquiry.
An organisation that selectively responds to media — briefing friendly outlets anonymously while ignoring formal written inquiries from investigative publications — is not practising transparency. It is practising information management. And the questions it is managing most carefully are precisely the ones TheDiggerNews.com asked first.
What Remains Unanswered
Despite eight days of public controversy, political intervention, and expert condemnation, NNPC has still not answered the six questions TheDiggerNews.com formally put to it on May 5, 2026:
Which refinery has either of the Chinese partners ever operated?
Was a competitive tender conducted?
What is the total financial commitment?
How does the MoU relate to the Verheijen sale policy?
How does Ojulari reconcile his “waste” statement with this new deal?
Has the National Assembly been briefed?
Those questions remain on the public record. They remain unanswered. And TheDiggerNews.com will continue to ask them until NNPC provides formal, documented, public responses.
The Dig
Eight days ago, TheDiggerNews.com asked: What refinery has either of these companies ever operated?
Eight days later, a former Vice President has confirmed our findings. Energy experts have confirmed our findings. Civil society has confirmed our findings. Nigeria’s employers’ body has confirmed our findings.
NNPC has confirmed nothing — except that it prefers to brief anonymous sources rather than answer formal questions from the publication that broke this story.
The Chinese Gamble is no longer just an investigation. It is a national accountability crisis. And it will not be resolved by anonymous briefings, corporate communications officers, or signing ceremonies in Jiaxing City.
It will be resolved when NNPC answers the six questions. Publicly. On the record. With verifiable evidence.
TheDiggerNews.com is still waiting.
TheDiggerNews.com‘s formal inquiry to NNPC Limited — sent May 5, 2026, with a midnight May 7, 2026 deadline — remains unanswered as of the date of this publication. This investigation is ongoing.
𝗞𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲 𝗔𝗱𝗲𝗴𝗼𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱-𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝟭𝟱 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲. 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘀, 𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝗔𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗘𝗢 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀.𝗰𝗼𝗺, 𝗔𝗱𝗲𝗴𝗼𝗸𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝗱𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵𝘀, 𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗳𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗺.
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